ocal lengths on digital SLR camera lenses

Unless you own a top-end digital SLR camera costing thousands of pounds, the sta
ted zoom range on any lens is normally not the zoom range you get when you use i
t on your digital SLR camera.
For example, the Canon 18-55mm lens has an optical zoom range of 18-55mm. This i
s the zoom range you would get if you fitted this lens to a film SLR.
The first number on any zoom range shows the angle of view the lower the number,
the more you can zoom out. The second number shows how far the zoom extends the
bigger the number, the further you can zoom in.
However, when you fit this 18-55mm lens to the Canon EOS 500D DSLR, say, the zoo
m range becomes 29-88mm because of this camera s internal design. This optical zoo
m range change is sometimes called focal-length multiplication, or 'crop factor'
.
In the Canon EOS 500D's case, the focal-length multiplier is 1.6x. The actual, r
eal-life zoom ranges of all lenses (for example 18-55, 100-300mm and so on) are
subject to a multiplication of 1.6. Other camera systems can have focal-length m
ultiplications of 1.5x or even 2x.
Full-frame digital SLRs
Only very expensive full-frame digital SLRs, such as the Nikon D700 or the Sony
alpha 900, have no focal length multiplication. If you attach an 18-55mm lens to
one of these cameras, you'll get a focal length of exactly 18-55mm. This can be
particularly advantageous with wide-angle photography.
Digital SLR lenses with image stabilisation
Some digital SLR lenses have built-in image stabilisers. These are often labelle
d IS (image stabilisation), VR (vibration reduction) or OS (optical stabilisatio
n), and tend to be more expensive than lenses without stabilisers.
These lenses have a small mechanical element that detects trembling hand movemen
ts and compensates with a corresponding motion of its own.
Generally, the image stabilisers found in digital SLR lenses are far more effect
ive than the small ones found in compact digital cameras.
An image stabiliser tends to be most useful when you're photographing in low lig
ht, and need a longer shutter speed in order to capture your subject. The longer
your shutter speed, the more likely you are to see blurry footage, so a good im
age stabiliser can really help in such conditions.
Image stabilisers can also be useful with telephoto zoom lenses, as even small t
rembling hand movements can be exaggerated by the zoom lens.
Some digital SLRs have image stabilisers built directly in to the body of the ca
mera itself. These work by shifting the sensor when motion is detected. An advan
tage of this is that you won't need to buy lenses with stabilisers, which can sa
ve money on future lens purchases.

More depth of field means more of your picture will be in focus

Aperture and depth of field
All lenses have an aperture (a little hole), through which light passes to creat
e the photograph. Changing the size of the aperture can give different amounts o
f depth of field . Depth of field is the distance in front of and behind the subjec
t that is in focus.
More depth of field means that more of your picture is in focus. Little depth of
field can mean a blurred background in a photo, and is a useful technique for p
leasing portrait shots.
Consider an example of a photo of a person standing in front of a field of donke
ys. With lots of depth of field, the person and the field of donkeys will both b
e in sharp focus. With little depth of field, just the person will be in sharp f
ocus and the field of donkeys will be blurred.
The size of the aperture is represented by the f-stop. The smaller the f-stop, t
he bigger the aperture and the less depth of field you have f1.8 and f1.4 are ex
amples of particularly small f-stops, though you'll only encounter such large ap
ertures on fixed focal-length lenses with no zooms.
You usually change the aperture size using the digital SLR camera s controls, thou
gh each lens has a maximum and a minimum aperture size (and corresponding minimu
m and maximum f-stop) which the camera automatically detects.

Little depth of field means more of your photo will be blurry

More on f-stops on digital SLR camera lenses
The 'maximum' aperture of a lens, in other words how big the aperture can get, i
s usually stated on the lens. The bigger the aperture (in other words, the small
er the f-stop), the more light can get on to the digital SLR sensor.
This means shutter speeds can be shorter, reducing the chance of blur. This is i
n addition to less depth of field.
Lenses usually have their maximum apertures stated as a range, as the maximum ap
erture is different at different ends of the zoom. Remember the size of the aper
ture is represented by the f-stop.
For example, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 has a maximum aperture range of f3.
5-5.6, where f3.5 is the maximum aperture at the zoomed-out end of the lens, and
f5.6 is the maximum aperture at the zoomed-in end of the lens.
Autofocus (AF)/Manual focus (MF)
Virtually all digital SLR lenses offer auto-focusing but always check they're co
mpatible with your digital SLR camera's autofocus (AF) system. If you're using a
n older lens from a film SLR, which may fit a digital SLR from the same manufact
urer, you may find the AF systems are incompatible.
All lenses offer a manual focusing (MF) mode too if you prefer simply flick a sw
itch on the lens body to alternate between AF and MF.
In low light, the autofocus can sometimes take longer to find its subject. In th
ese situations, it can be handy to rely on manual focusing provided you can make
out the subject by eye.
It can also be useful to use the manual focus when you're anticipating a fast-mo
ving subject. At a race track, for example, it's handy to set the correct focus
before your subjects start passing by at high speed.
Weight and length of digital SLR camera lenses
Most basic kit lenses weigh between 200 and 500 grams. Add a heavy lens to your
digital SLR camera and you could have quite a heavy package to carry around with
you. It s always worth considering the weight and dimensions of a lens before buy
ing.
Zoom lenses can, of course, replace the need for carrying around many fixed foca
l-length lenses. However, their performance at any specific focal length within
their zoom range typically won't be quite as good as what you'll get from an equ
ivalent fixed focal-length lens.

Filters can be added to the lens of your digital SLR

Adding filters to your digital SLR lenses
Filters can be added to your lens, and there are lots you can buy.
For example, a polarising filter can make the blue of sky in your pictures more
intense. A starburst (sometimes also called 'cross star ) filter can create 'star'
effects from light sources such as candles or lightbulbs.
A UV/skylight filter can absorb UV haze in sunny landscape pictures. Since this
is the only effect it has, it's a good filter to leave on as it offers protectio
n to the glass of your actual lens.
Many effects that filters create can also be done using image-editing software o
n the computer, but having filters can help the photographer to better visualise
the image, and can also save time in the long run.
Finally, make sure you buy the correct size filter for your lens.